On March 30, 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) warned local governments and public services of continued ransomware attacks that have resulted in a disruption of operational services, risks to public safety, and financial losses. The FBI urges local governments and public services to take steps to prevent and recover from ransomware attacks. The OIG also believes that ransomware has been and will continue to be a threat to LSC grantees. As a result, the risks identified by the FBI in the Private Industry Notification (PIN) apply equally to other organizations such as nonprofit…
Nearly all LSC grantees make use of credit cards and/or purchase cards tied to individual retailers (Sam's Club, Office Depot, and others) to facilitate the process of making recurring or one-time expenditures. Credit cards and purchase cards offer grantees many advantages and allow grantees to make purchases with ease and efficiency.As part of its Fraud Corner Series, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is providing Legal Services Corporation (LSC) grantees with the following information and best practices to assist you in identifying and/or preventing fraud related to the use of credit…
The FBI defines BEC schemes as scams that target businesses that regularly perform wire transfers by compromising official email accounts in an attempt to conduct unauthorized fund transfers. This recent BEC scheme is the first reported scheme that has identified and targeted an LSC grantee's financial institutions in order to gain unauthorized access to their accounts (including both banking and investment accounts).
On November 8, 2021, as a result of a joint investigation by the U.S. Secret Service, and the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Legal Services Corporation (LSC), a former Information Technology (IT) Manager for an LSC grantee entered into a Pretrial Diversion Agreement (PDA) with the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO).
On December 6, 2021, in Superior Court, Orange County, CA, Luna and Cancino pled guilty to multiple counts of Grand Theft, one count of Theft of Personal Property, and one count of Unauthorized Practice of Law. Sentencing for Luna and Cancino is scheduled for June 6, 2022
Since 1996, the Legal Services Corporation's (LSC) annual appropriations acts have required that each person or entity receiving financial assistance from the Corporation be subject to an annual audit, conducted by an Independent Public Accountant (IPA). Each grantee contracts directly with an IPA to conduct the required audit in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance), and the…
The OIG recognizes that many grantees implement strong internal controls in your programs. This Fraud Alert is being issued to grantees to inform you of fraud indicators uncovered by OIG investigations since 2018 and to highlight the importance of grantee employees alerting the OIG to potential indicators of fraud, waste, and abuse of program funds. In doing so, the OIG intends to help prevent your program from being a victim of fraud.
The OIG has recorded a Cybercrimes Fraud Awareness presentation to inform grantees of the types of cyber-attacks that have targeted LSC grantees since 2018. The presentation provides grantees with best practices for preventing and detecting similar cyber-attacks and suggestions for responding to the cyber-attacks if they do impact your program.
IntroductionThe LSC-OIG has seen an increase in cyber threats targeting LSC grantee programs since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the OIG has produced several resources to inform grantees of the pending threats which aim to assist grantees in preventing, detecting, and reporting the cyber threats.Please find links to the cyber threat resources below:LSC-OIG Cyber Security PresentationsCyber Fraud Risk Briefing — Business Email Compromise: Download Business Email Compromise Presentation slides Video — Stay Safe: Protect Your IT…
The OIG has been investigating check fraud scams affecting grantees for nearly a decade. However, of late, these scams have been occurring more frequently and have become more sophisticated.